World Sports Betting Cape Town Met (Grade 1)

Maine Chance Farms Majorca Stakes (Grade 1)

THE irrepressible Andrew Fortune rode into the record books as the oldest jockey to win Cape Town’s most famous race when landing the World Sports Betting-sponsored Grade 1 Met on See It Again at Kenilworth last Saturday.

The 58-year-old had the 5/2 second favourite well placed almost throughout and sent him clear in the final furlong to beat 33/1 shot stablemate Legal Counsel by three-parts of a length, with The Real Prince (7/2) a length and a quarter back in third.

Fortune has long claimed that the good Lord came to his rescue when he was a down-and-out in a squatter camp and on the presentation stand he got to his knees, threw his arms up in the air and declared: “I want to thank God. I came from addiction to everything - nobody wanted me - and now I get this moment and it’s unbelievable. It’s f…ing amazing,”

Emotions

What was also amazing was that Fortune’s son Aldo Domeyer rode the runner-up. He and his father promptly hugged each other, their emotions clearly spilling out.

The stipes, with remarkable insensitivity, called Fortune in and fined him R20,000 (€1,045) “for using foul language.’

Admittedly they suspended three-quarters of it for 12 months but surely a quiet word would have been more appropriate.

Headache

Justin Snaith, who was responsible for six of the 11 runners and was winning the race for the fourth consecutive year, quipped: “I could thank God for giving me this headache Andrew! He drives me mad but he has proved that you can come back from anything.”

See It Again had been trained in Durban by Michael Roberts but apparently the Cape Town presence of famous horse whisperer Malan du Toit prompted the change of stables. “Malan has worked on him every day,” said Snaith.

The winner is by Twice Over out of the American-bred Visionaire mare Supreme Vision and was bred by Gaynor Rupert’s Drakenstein Stud. Owner Nik Jonsson also owned or part-owned Snaith’s last three Met winners and described his personal four-timer as “an impossible dream.”

Eight On Eighteen, yet another from the Snaith yard, started 2/1 favourite but flopped and finished with only three behind him. The stipes ordered a veterinary examination but this revealed nothing.

Snaith and Fortune also won the other Grade 1 on the card, the Maine Chance Majorca Stakes over a mile, with the Varsfontein Stud-bred Vercingetorix mare Double Grand Slam, part-owned by Gary Player.

The golfing legend paid tribute to Fortune, saying: “He has given a new life to racing and he has done a wonderful job. He is a personality and people want to come and see him. He has given us all a lot of pleasure and done a wonderful job.”